Yes, I am still here, just dealing with a lot of Real Life Stuff, health-wise, money-wise, etc.  I did escape (complete with my big clunky purple cast) for a few days to our beautiful Gulf Coast, the so-called “Redneck Riviera” 😉 to spend time with my two sisters and sort of celebrate all our birthdays together.
Never mind they are in three separate months–September, August and January–celebrate when and where you can, that’s our motto.
It was the first time we had been together in–what, over a year? Haven’t been to the beach in close to two years. Way too long. Sara was her usual gracious self and prepared wonderful food–the Omaha Steaks filet mignon was to die for–while Tony took us out for a couple of memorable meals of Gulf Coast seafood and southern sides. Deb had to cut up my food for me, but I managed not to make too much of a mess. 😉 
My sisters Deb and Sara on the balcony of Sara’s Orange Beach condo.  I never fail to marvel at the sunrises and sunsets when I am down there.  Below, Sara sporting the Alabama monogrammed cuff and scarf I gave her as part of her birthday and wearing a shirt from Deb in anticipation of Crimson Tide Game Day; the palms in front of the Phoenix VIII silhouetted against the sky and Sara and her “little” sister, who now towers over her.  And there’s the adorable Hannah, my sister’s sweet, sweet little dog.  
 
 
 
Little things mean a lot, and there are so many things we simply take for granted. I didn’t realize how long it have been since I had enjoyed a refreshing glass of juice until we had the orange-pineapple kind for breakfast on a couple of mornings. My gosh, but that juice was good! I really savored it. That’s one of things that has fallen off our grocery list of late. Too many medical co-pays, too little money, just can’t make it stretch far enough. Some of you know how it goes.
As far as my health issues, the cast is off and the forearm has definitely improved by resting the tendon through forced immobility, just as Chavan hoped. Hooray! However, the wrist is still problematic and I am not dismissing scoping surgery of the wrist in the future. (Come to think of it, my entire body is problematic. I feel like that old fixer-upper in the neighborhood: I’m full of character and a certain charm, but I definitely needs lot of work. Â Caveat emptor.)
We worked last weekend covering a homecoming dance for PRP and an attack of sciatica nearly did me in. But I survived, as always. I just pay for it over the next several days. C’est la vie. Keeping fingers crossed that everything goes well with tomorrow morning’s assignment for the newspaper. Â I need the bucks, whenever and however I can make them–within reason, of course. And due to the cast, I am seriously behind on some of my projects. Â On those all-too-frequent days when I feel overly stressed and bummed out in general, I close my eyes and remember this: 
And this. 
And also this. 
 
 
The sugary white sands of Orange Beach, Ala., and the ever-changing blues and greens (not to mention pinks and oranges) of sky and sea. All photos, save the one of Sara and me taken by Deb, are my own.Â
I’ve got a soft, beautiful cat on my lap, and new books to read and escape into, Â thanks to Sara’s generous gift of an Amazon card; the birthday cash from Deb helped buy groceries and gas. I have a darling husband who can always make me laugh even when I am low, and two sisters who love and support me in various ways. Â I’m not where I want to be, exactly, in life, but I am trying to make the best of where I am with what I have. Â 
I think this guy would approve (he tends to make me feel better, too, BTW.  Edit by Fernanda Matias). 
the armitage effect 